ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Braves are back in the National League Championship Series, courtesy of a few Killer B's.

John Burkett handcuffed Houston's "Killer B" offense for 6 1/3 innings and Paul Bako drove in three runs as the Braves swept the Astros in their National League Division Series with a 6-2 victory Friday afternoon at Turner Field.

Bako, Julio Franco and Chipper Jones homered to help the Braves advance to the NLCS beginning Tuesday against either Arizona or St. Louis. The Braves are in the NLCS for the 11th time in franchise history and first since 1999.

The Astros have made the playoffs four times in the last five years but are 2-12 during that span and have never advanced beyond the first round.

Burkett (1-0), allowed just six hits and two earned runs while walking two and striking out four. The right-hander limited the first four hitters in the lineup -- including "Killer B's" Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman -- to just two hits in nine plate appearances.

"I went out there just wanting to give us a chance to win," Burkett said.
"I was able to do a great job locating my pitches and that has always been
the key to my success."

John Smoltz retired the side in order in the ninth.

"The pitching really was outstanding for us in this series," said Atlanta
Manager Bobby Cox said. "That Houston club can really hit the ball, to do what our pitching staff did in this series against that team was outstanding."

The favored Astros were completely outplayed by the Braves. Houston had only one lead, 3-2 in Game One, and was outscored 14-6, outhit .303 (30-for-99) to .200 (19-for-95) and outpitched (3.46 to 1.67). The Astros didn't have a hit with a runner in scoring position in the series (0-for-12).

"They're obviously a great team, that's why they've won 10 straight
division titles," Houston first baseman Jeff Bagwell said. "They really make
the pitches, in the three at-bats I had, I had like one good pitch to hit and
that was a curveball by (Steve) Karsay and he throws 97 mph.

"They made pitches. They do that year in and year out, that's why they go
to the playoffs every year and that's why they get to the World Series. The
last three years I felt like we're better than what we've showed in the
playoffs. We've never been up 2-1, we've never won an elimination game, and
it's frustrating."

Franco slammed a 3-1 fastball from Reynolds an estimated 397 feet to left
field with one out in the third. Franco's homer, his first in a postseason
game, gave the Braves a 3-0 lead.

"I felt like we should've been able to hit Burkett, but I wasn't standing in the batter's box seeing where those pitches were," Houston Manager Larry Dierker said. "Burkett made the good pitches when he had to, and pitched the kind of game that h's pitched a lot this year, and Shane didn't. Shane wasn't horrible, but he certainly wasn't his best."

Bako, a former Astro and newest parent on the Braves, delivered his first
home run of the postseason when he lined a 1-2 fastball from Reynolds into
the right-field seats with Rey Sanchez aboard to give Atlanta a 2-0 lead in
the second.

Bako burnt the Astros again in the fourth, laying down a perfect suicide
squeeze bunt to score Andruw Jones as the Braves upped their lead to 4-0.

"Hitting eighth you don't get much of a chance to bunt, but being a bench
guy I happen to be able to do a lot of the little things and do them well,"
Bako said.

Jones had reached with a one-out infield single and moved to second on a
base hit by Sanchez. Bako then bunted between the mound and third,
allowing Jones to score from third.

The Astros snapped a string of 15 consecutive scoreless innings when
Daryle Ward hit a two-run pinch hit homer with one out in the eighth off
Burkett to cut Atlanta's lead in half at 4-2.

Chipper Jones answered with a two-run homer off Octavio Dotel in the eighth for
Atlanta's final runs.

The Astros had runners on first and second with two outs in the first but
Moises Alou grounded out to the pitcher to end the threat. The Astros were in
a similar situation in the third, and Burkett once again induce Alou to
ground out to end the inning.

"We gave everything we had, and it wasn't good enough," Bagwell said. "I
know a lot of (the fans) are upset and want changes made, the alternative is
we weren't in the playoffs four out of five years. I don't know that that
would be anything better. Six weeks ago I thought we could go a long way, we
had all our starting pitching healthy, we were rolling."

But once again it didn't work out that way in the postseason for the
Astros.

"It's extremely disappointing," second baseman Craig Biggio said. "We
really thought this time it would be different."